A new approach to the fabrication of ``smart`` near-surface nanostructure composites

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A new method for the formation of smart near-surface nanoscale composites has been developed. In this approach, small precipitates of active phases are embedded in the near-surface region of the material that is to be modified by a combination of ion implantation and thermal processing. The dispersion, concentration, and microstructure of the nanocrystals formed in the substrate material can be tailored through a careful choice of processing parameters - making this approach well suited to high value added, high technology applications. The applicability of this approach to forming smart surfaces on otherwise inactive materials was established in the case of ...
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Description

A new method for the formation of smart near-surface nanoscale composites has been developed. In this approach, small precipitates of active phases are embedded in the near-surface region of the material that is to be modified by a combination of ion implantation and thermal processing. The dispersion, concentration, and microstructure of the nanocrystals formed in the substrate material can be tailored through a careful choice of processing parameters - making this approach well suited to high value added, high technology applications. The applicability of this approach to forming smart surfaces on otherwise inactive materials was established in the case of VO{sup 2} precipitates which were embedded in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} single crystals to create a medium suitable for optical applications--including optical data storage. Most recently, this concept has been extended to the fabrication of magnetic field sensitive nanostructured surfaces by forming magnetostrictive precipitates of materials such as Ni or RFe{sub 2} (with R = Tm, Tb, Sm) that are embedded in various single crystal oxide hosts. These nanostructured, active surface composites have been characterized using XRD, RBS, TEM, and magneto-optical techniques.